Le Ling, Yan Li and Sicheng Fu
When dealing with simple functional functions, traditional reliability calculation methods, such as the linear second-order moment and quadratic second ordered moment, Monte Carlo…
Abstract
Purpose
When dealing with simple functional functions, traditional reliability calculation methods, such as the linear second-order moment and quadratic second ordered moment, Monte Carlo simulation method, are powerful. However, when the functional function of the structure shows strong nonlinearity or even implicit, traditional methods often fail to meet the actual needs of engineering in terms of calculation accuracy or efficiency.
Design/methodology/approach
To improve the reliability analysis efficiency and calculation accuracy of complex structures, the reliability analysis methods based on parametric and semi-parametric models are analyzed.
Findings
This paper proposes a reliability method that combines the Kriging model and the importance sampling method to improve the calculation efficiency of traditional reliability analysis methods.
Originality/value
This method uses an active learning function and introduces an importance sampling method to screen sample points and shift the center of gravity, thereby reducing the sample size and the amount of calculation.
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Yaw A. Debrah and Ian G. Smith
Presents over sixty abstracts summarising the 1999 Employment Research Unit annual conference held at the University of Cardiff. Explores the multiple impacts of globalization on…
Abstract
Presents over sixty abstracts summarising the 1999 Employment Research Unit annual conference held at the University of Cardiff. Explores the multiple impacts of globalization on work and employment in contemporary organizations. Covers the human resource management implications of organizational responses to globalization. Examines the theoretical, methodological, empirical and comparative issues pertaining to competitiveness and the management of human resources, the impact of organisational strategies and international production on the workplace, the organization of labour markets, human resource development, cultural change in organisations, trade union responses, and trans‐national corporations. Cites many case studies showing how globalization has brought a lot of opportunities together with much change both to the employee and the employer. Considers the threats to existing cultures, structures and systems.
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E‐commerce plays an important role in today’s business environment, and that role will continue to grow each year. eMarketer predicts that by “2004, world wide e‐commerce revenues…
Abstract
E‐commerce plays an important role in today’s business environment, and that role will continue to grow each year. eMarketer predicts that by “2004, world wide e‐commerce revenues are expected to total USD 2.7 trillion”. E‐commerce continues to grow in the United States. “The Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced today that the estimate of U.S. retail e‐commerce sales for the first quarter of 2004, not adjusted for seasonal, holiday, and trading‐day differences, was $15.5 billion, an increase of 28.1 per cent (±2.9 per cent) from the first quarter of 2003.” “According to a new study by RoperASW and AOL Time Warner, Europeans spent on average EUR430 on line between August and October 2002.” This compares with an average spend of EUR543 per head in the US over the same period.
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Mert Akyuz, Cagin Karul and Ibrahim Demir
The aim of this research is to investigate the causal relationship between trade openness (TO) and life expectancy (LE) at birth in Latin American countries over the period of…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this research is to investigate the causal relationship between trade openness (TO) and life expectancy (LE) at birth in Latin American countries over the period of 1980–2014.
Design/methodology/approach
The bootstrap panel Granger causality test proposed by Emirmahmutoglu and Kose (2011) was used to determine the direction of causality in the presence of cross-sectional dependency and heterogeneity among Latin American countries. Also, four different tests were employed in order to determine the cross-sectional dependency and slope homogeneity. The stationarity properties of variables were inspected by employing a unit root test.
Findings
The findings indicated that Granger causality existed between TO and LE, at birth which was running from the former to the latter for panel. On a country basis, TO Granger caused LE at birth for countries with low level of economic development and higher taxes on income and profits.
Practical implications
This study provides new insights for policymaking regarding the role of TO in achieving comprehensive economic reforms to increase LE at birth during a period of intense trade rivalry across nations.
Originality/value
Although research in the literature has mainly focused on the impact of TO on LE at birth with panel data, most studies ignored the regional effects. It is the authors’ concern that the direction of causality can be country-specific and have regional characteristics. In this regard, instead of dividing countries for a specific region into two parts such as developing and developed, the authors investigated the pattern of trade–health link for a specific region, Latin America.
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Richard J. Bauer and Julie R. Dahlquist
Discusses research ideas on the distinctions between data, information and knowledge, the categories of knowledge and knowledge‐processing activities in Holsapple and Whinston’s…
Abstract
Discusses research ideas on the distinctions between data, information and knowledge, the categories of knowledge and knowledge‐processing activities in Holsapple and Whinston’s (HW’s) taxonomy (1987, 1988a, 1988b), and their application to markets and the activities of the firm. Describes a manufacturing firm’s inputs, production processes and outputs in terms of HW’s taxonomy, pointing out that management must filter the information surrounding the firm to turn it into knowledge of various types, e.g. descriptive, derived, assimilative etc. Considers the role of information for customers of and investors in the firm; and the relationship between knowledge and efficiency. Identifies three types of knowledge workers (builders, stewards and appliers) and calls for further research on the taxonomy of knowledge and standards of knowledge within the finance discipline.
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Evangelos Vasileiou, Elroi Hadad and Georgios Melekos
The objective of this paper is to examine the determinants of the Greek house market during the period 2006–2022 using not only economic variables but also behavioral variables…
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this paper is to examine the determinants of the Greek house market during the period 2006–2022 using not only economic variables but also behavioral variables, taking advantage of available information on the volume of Google searches. In order to quantify the behavioral variables, we implement a Python code using the Pytrends 4.9.2 library.
Design/methodology/approach
In our study, we assert that models relying solely on economic variables, such as GDP growth, mortgage interest rates and inflation, may lack precision compared to those that integrate behavioral indicators. Recognizing the importance of behavioral insights, we incorporate Google Trends data as a key behavioral indicator, aiming to enhance our understanding of market dynamics by capturing online interest in Greek real estate through searches related to house prices, sales and related topics. To quantify our behavioral indicators, we utilize a Python code leveraging Pytrends, enabling us to extract relevant queries for global and local searches. We employ the EGARCH(1,1) model on the Greek house price index, testing several macroeconomic variables alongside our Google Trends indexes to explain housing returns.
Findings
Our findings show that in some cases the relationship between economic variables, such as inflation and mortgage rates, and house prices is not always consistent with the theory because we should highlight the special conditions of the examined country. The country of our sample, Greece, presents the special case of a country with severe sovereign debt issues, which at the same time has the privilege to have a strong currency and the support and the obligations of being an EU/EMU member.
Practical implications
The results suggest that Google Trends can be a valuable tool for academics and practitioners in order to understand what drives house prices. However, further research should be carried out on this topic, for example, causality relationships, to gain deeper insight into the possibilities and limitations of using such tools in analyzing housing market trends.
Originality/value
This is the first paper, to the best of our knowledge, that examines the benefits of Google Trends in studying the Greek house market.
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B. Sebastian Reiche, Mark E. Mendenhall, Betina Szkudlarek and Joyce S. Osland
We review academic journal articles, chapters in scholarly books, and dissertations that were published in the global leadership domain in 2018 and compare our findings with those…
Abstract
We review academic journal articles, chapters in scholarly books, and dissertations that were published in the global leadership domain in 2018 and compare our findings with those of Mendenhall, Li, and Osland’s (2016) earlier review of the 2010–2014 period. Specifically, we trace and discuss relevant changes over time in the number of authors, nature of employed methodologies, linkages of global leadership to related phenomena, and the prevalence of drawing on other conceptual approaches compared to those previously used to study global leadership. We conclude by discussing implications for advancing (1) an integrated body of global leadership theory, (2) novel forms of empirical research, and (3) collaborative global leadership research.
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Ingo Bildstein, Stefan Gueldenberg and Hora Tjitra
The purpose of this paper is to link Peter F. Drucker's seminal theoretical conceptions with empirical insights on what constitutes perception of effective knowledge worker…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to link Peter F. Drucker's seminal theoretical conceptions with empirical insights on what constitutes perception of effective knowledge worker leadership in an intercultural environment. Both a fundamental shift of mind in theorizing and much more empirical research is needed, to fully understand the underlying view of leadership as a socially distributed activity. However, in a true Druckerian spirit, to take this new lens on leadership is neither magic nor rocket science – but it constitutes a road visible but not yet seen.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors link key recommendations on expert leadership from the timeless 1999 Drucker paper on knowledge worker productivity to the results of qualitative in‐depth interviews with over 100 top‐level leaders and their direct reports in China, Indonesia, and Singapore. Because leadership is all about influencing other people, the authors are especially interested on what constitutes good leadership from the followers' point of view.
Findings
One of the key findings is that perceived leadership effectiveness heavily depends upon fit to followers' expectations. As a result, a leadership style, which is effective in one country can wreak havoc when unreflectively transferred into another cultural environment. Hence being able to step back and to reflect on the appropriateness of one's leadership behavior is the key element of a globally successful leader.
Practical implications
Too many experts are currently sent to foreign assignments without proper preparation for good adaptation of their leadership behavior. A new leadership conception informed by psychological consideration provides expert leaders with recommended action on how to best deal with the group dynamics resulting from dealing with the twenty‐first century's most valuable asset entrusted to their care. This mind‐shift will overcome leadership barriers to international business, and optimize knowledge work results.
Originality/value
This contribution is one of the first studies about perceived knowledge worker leadership effectiveness in Asia. Integration of the paper's findings with recent Western leadership conceptualizations focusing on sharing and distributing leadership responsibilities will help build a richer understanding.
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Muhammad Saifullah Khalid, Qi Zhanyong and Jannat Bibi
This study aims to assess the socio-cognitive transformation and subject knowledge development of international students studying in China's universities with diverse learning…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to assess the socio-cognitive transformation and subject knowledge development of international students studying in China's universities with diverse learning environment.
Design/methodology/approach
The data was collected through on-line survey and quantitative approach was adopted on a Likert scale to assess students' cognitive and social development as a responsible mind-set, ethical awareness, understanding cultural diversity and subject knowledge development. The assessment scale consisted of 25 statements to cover the foundational indicators that represent socio-cognitive transformation. The questionnaire was pilot tested for internal consistency by calculating Cronbach’s alpha. Furthermore, exploratory factor analysis was applied to ensure the traits of the construct intended to measure. A total of 316 participants responded to the survey. With descriptive statistics, X2 of association and Friedman’s two-way analysis of variance by rank was applied to test the hypothesis.
Findings
This study argues that diverse learning environment has positive impact on learners’ socio-cognitive transformation. It enhances students' capability to understand cultural values to accept diversity and awareness about global community issues and also subject knowledge skill development.
Originality/value
In the current century, study abroad programs have increased the mobility of international students, and the role of higher education institutions has become immense, multifaceted and dynamic. Universities are taking a position to play a considerable role in creating learning opportunities for awareness of societal issues and transform social behavior. Studying abroad programs is a growing concept in response to learners' cogitative and socialized transformation. There is an absence of research conducted to explore the impact of a diverse cultural environment on the socio-cognitive transformation of international students. Therefore, the current study focused on exploring the cognitive and societal development of international students studying in China.
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Henry Kofi Mensah, Gilbert Anyowuo Okyere, Philip Opoku Mensah, Klenam Korbla Ledi and Eric Sie Forenten
This study aims to investigate the relationship between managerial corporate social responsibility (CSR) mindset and business performance in small- and medium-sized enterprises…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the relationship between managerial corporate social responsibility (CSR) mindset and business performance in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), focusing on the mediating role of CSR practices and the moderating influence of institutional forces.
Design/methodology/approach
A structured questionnaire was administered to 221 SME managers. The data was analysed using the Hayes process in SPSS to test the hypothesized relationships.
Findings
This study found that a managerial CSR mindset significantly improves operational and financial business performance. In addition, CSR practices mediate the relationship between managerial CSR mindset and business performance. Furthermore, institutional forces moderate this relationship, highlighting the critical role of external factors in shaping SME performance.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that SME managers should adopt a proactive managerial CSR mindset and integrate CSR into their core strategies to enhance business performance. Moreover, managers must be responsive to institutional forces as they adjust their strategy to meet external pressures to ensure sustainable performance.
Originality/value
This study demonstrates the theoretical explanation of how CSR practices serve as a conduit through which a managerial CSR mindset improves business performance under varying conditions of institutional forces.